This studio course investigates the creative possibilities in programming, from interactivity to information visualization. Students explore interactive narratives and games, software art, simulations and emergent behaviors, and other code-based forms. Lectures and demonstrations provide a conceptual, aesthetic and technical foundation in programming as a creative practice. Techniques and concepts are presented through the open-source programming environment p5*js, with an introduction to advanced topics such as server facilitated interactivity and computer vision.
What is at the intersection of art and technology? What does technology help us understand about art? How does art deepen our understanding of technology? Is all art technological? These questions undergird art and technology practices and studies. This course deals with simulation and games, with networked play and interactive art -- these genres of work point out a key affordance of creative media practices, its worldbuilding power.
In this course, we'll begin to approach these generative problems by beginning to develop our technical facility and expressivity with a creative coding tool. We will get started with a refresher of "beginner" p5js before continuing to build out an extended toolkit for creating interactive and generative artworks. Your guide here will be the textbook Getting Started with p5js (see PDF included in materials). You’ll work in a small group to develop a tutorial on two key concept/techniques in p5. After a few weeks, we'll bring it all together in a teach-in.
We will look at some artistic examples of visualization as well as its sensory sisters sonification and haptic display. After learning how to integrate live data streams via APIs into our sketches, your first project will be display visually (or otherwise) the remaining carbon budgeted before a global increase in temperature of 1.5 or 2 degrees Celsius. We'll read the introduction to McKenzie Wark's Molecular Red, in particular her emphasis of the concept of the "Carbon Liberation Front". The CLF generates a view of the anthropocene and the climate crisis that radically decenters our own perspectives. How can visualization and art practice make an analogous move?
In Unit 2 we'll dive into advanced functionality for keeping track of position, direction, speed, acceleration -- the groundwork of a physics engine -- through the p5.Vector. This will allow us to build towards creating simulations of complex group activity (think of a flock of birds, or a table with a thousand marbles). We will use the Nature of Code text by Daniel Schiffman (PDF also in materials) to walk us through the code, and Baudrillard and Ian Cheng to think through simulation as a world-building technique, which you'll sum up in your second project.
Unit 3 brings things online. We'll look at the library p5.Party which will allow us to write code that shares data over a common server, networked interaction. This means you can code interactions between two or more computers -- whether they're in the same building or across the world. We'll show some other techniques in computer vision here using a library called MediaPipe that will allow for camera-based sensing of movement. This approach to sensing activity proffers a more deeply embodied interaction scheme that greatly exceeds the complexity of keyboard or mouse interactions which we know from every day. In your project, you'll put that together with two or more computers with our p5.party library.
This "multiplayer" interaction segues elegantly into our last unit, games. Our approach to games will be heavily in debt to the concept of play and the immersion of role-play. Table-top roleplaying games offer a technical basis for thinking through the structurations and narrativizations in games and play. We'll leverage that simplicity in this unit, since we may also wish to combine other techniques from the preceding units in our project 4.
Students are expected to attend all classes regularly and arrive on time. Full participation is required in all aspects of a course—including in-person sessions, synchronous online classes, and independent study.
Instructors may permit students up to two absences per semester—inclusive of absences due to illness and/or family/personal emergencies. If a student registers late during the add/drop period, they are responsible for catching up on all missed content and assignments; instructors may count those missed classes as absences.
Instructors have the discretion to define expectations around student tardiness, including policies related to late arrivals, mid-class breaks, and early departures. These expectations should be clearly outlined in the course syllabus and communicated to students during the first class to ensure transparency and consistency.
Instructors grant credit only to students who meet the standards and expectations of the course.
Students who are ill and unable to attend class should notify their instructor(s) by email or leave a message with the department office on the day they are absent. For extended absences due to illness, the student should contact Health Services, who will notify instructors. For other extenuating circumstances, students should reach out to the Academic Advising office. Please note that the written notification does not excuse a student from classes.
Federal Financial Aid Attendance Requirement: Recipients of federal aid must have begun attendance in classes for which their eligibility is based upon at the time of disbursement and, in the case of Federal Direct Loans (Subsidized, Unsubsidized, and PLUS), be enrolled at least half-time.
Religious Holiday Observance: SAIC recognizes the diverse religious and cultural practices of our community. Students are expected to notify their instructors early in the semester to discuss reasonable accommodations for holidays they observe.
Progress Reports are an important tool in SAIC's academic support for students. The primary purpose of a Progress Report is to initiate further dialogue between the student and faculty member regarding concerns about a student's progress in their course. Instructors should submit CPRs through Navigate. Progress Report instructions and FAQ can be found here. The secondary purpose of Progress Reports is to make Academic Advising aware of faculty concerns: Academic Advisors review Progress Reports and reach out appropriately to students when a message (or combination of messages) indicates concern.
Class Progress Reports (CPRs) are used to communicate between faculty, students, and academic advisors to give feedback on class performance. You may receive a CPR if you have missed class, or missed an assignment, critique, etc. These communications are intended to help you understand what you need to do to stay on track or get back on track and succeed in this class.
SAIC is fully committed to complying with all laws ensuring equal opportunities for students with disabilities. Students with known or suspected disabilities are encouraged to contact the Disability and Learning Resource Center (DLRC) to schedule a virtual appointment. During this appointment, DLRC staff will review the student’s documentation and work collaboratively to determine reasonable accommodations.
Once accommodations are approved, the DLRC will email a letter outlining the accommodations to both the student and their instructors. Students should be aware that not all approved accommodations will be applicable to every course. It is recommended that students speak with each instructor to discuss how their accommodations may be applied in the context of each class before they are implemented. To ensure timely support, students should contact the DLRC as early in the semester as possible. The DLRC can be reached via phone at 312.499.4278 or email at dlrc@saic.edu.
Students approved for accommodations through the DLRC are responsible for communicating with their instructors regarding the use and application of those accommodations. The implementation of accommodations requires an interactive process between the student and the instructor to determine how accommodations might be applied in the context of each specific course. Because course content, assignments, and learning objectives vary, accommodations must be considered on a course-by-course basis to ensure that they are both appropriate and do not compromise essential learning outcomes, which students are still expected to meet.
Accommodations do not excuse students from the standard requirements of communication and attendance. If a student needs to miss class or modify participation due to an approved accommodation, they must communicate with the instructor in advance whenever possible. In situations where advance notice is not feasible, students must notify the instructor within 24 hours of the missed class or academic activity. Failure on the student’s part to communicate in a timely manner may result in the inability to apply the accommodation for that specific instance.
Tutors are available in person and online to help students achieve their writing goals at any stage of their writing process. All students are welcome, and they can work on essays, artist statements, application materials, presentation texts, theses, proposals, creative writing, or social media posts. The Writing Center tutors are kind, encouraging, and interested!
Writing Center Hours (CST): Monday – Thursday: 9:15 AM - 7:15 PM and Friday: 9:15 AM - 5:15 PM
Though drop-ins are welcome, the best way to guarantee an appointment is to schedule one via Navigate: https://www.saic.edu/academics/writing-center or email wcenter@saic.edu
116 S. Michigan Ave., 10th Floor
Phone: 312-499-4138
From the SAIC Student Handbook (p.12)
Academic misconduct includes both plagiarism and cheating, and may consist of: the submission of the work of another as one’s own; unauthorized assistance (as defined by individual instructors and laid out in the course syllabus) on a test or assignment; submission of the same work for more than one class without the knowledge and consent of all instructors; or the failure to properly cite texts or ideas from other sources. Academic misconduct also includes the falsification of academic or student-related records, such as transcripts, evaluations, and letters of recommendation.
Academic misconduct extends to all spaces on campus, including satellite locations and online education.
Academic integrity is expected in all coursework, including online learning. It is assumed that the person receiving the credit for the course is the person completing the work. SAIC has processes in place, including LDAP authentication, to verify student identity.
The Office of Students Affairs is here to help students achieve success in and outside of the classroom and studios. Staff members are available to assist students with a wide-range of issues and concerns, including mental and physical health concerns, food and housing insecurity, conflicts with others, and much more. We are available during typical business hours (9-5pm, Mon-Friday); however, we also have staff available after-hours to address emergency concerns.
In case of an emergency, please contact SAIC Campus Security, 24 hours a day, by visiting any campus security desk or calling 312.899.1230. They can assist you and/or connect you with a staff member who can provide support for you.
If you have difficulty affording groceries or accessing food every day, and/or do not have a safe and stable place to live, please contact the Office of Student Affairs - (312) 629-6800 / studenthelp@saic.edu during business hours. If you contact them after hours, someone will respond the next business day. You can also find links and resources at this site, curated by Student Affairs: Student Support Resources and Information
Spoonful Food Pantry is available to current SAIC students who are experiencing difficulty accessing food because of a financial emergency or ongoing constraints. Students can request a pre-packaged bag of non-perishable groceries (vegan and gluten free available) by completing the online form. Once approved, students will receive a pre-packaged bag of non-perishable groceries.
The SAIC Wellness Center, which includes Counseling Services, Health Services, and the Disability and Learning Resource Center, is also here to support students' mental health, physical health, and accessibility needs. You may contact them at: